Driving mechanism



C. HAVILL ET AL DRIVING MECHANISM Sept. 15, 1936.

Filed Oct. 5, 1932 Patented Sept. 15, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT;

- assignments, toEclipse Aviation Corporation, East Orange, N. 3., a,corporation 0!,'NW

Jersey Application" October 3, iasase'rial no. $36,940

This inventionrelates to' driving mechanism andmore particularly todevice's'in' which rela-' tive rotation is possible between the drivingand driven members. I

' Another object of the invention is toprovide in a driving mechanism ofthe foregoing'char-' acter, novel means for preventing overheatingofthe'partsthereof; and at thesame time a!- iordingiubrication andcreating a hydro-static;

pressure in"th'e cooling and lubricating fluid, said pressure beingvariable in accordance with the speed of the mechanism andoperative byreasonof such variation to vary the-torque transmitting capacity :of themechanism in such amanner as to tend toimaintain the driven memberatv asubstantially constant speed. 1

Another object of .the invention bination oicentrifugal weights and'abodyof fluid constantly, in motion adjacent the :friction elements;and operating to exert 'a friction reducing effect on .said' frictionelements in re'-' sponse to action of centrifugal force on said fluid;

These and otherobjects and advantages to be derived from the use of theinvention herein disclosed'reside in the inter-relation and method ofoperation of the ipar.ts,and will become ap-' parent upon inspection ofthe "following specification when read -with reference to; theaccompanying drawing, wherein the preferred embodiment of the. inventionis illustrated. It is to-beexpressly understood,however, that thevdrawing is for t he puz'pose of illustration only and not to beconstrued'as a definition of the limits of the invention referencebeinghad for this purpose to the appendedclaims. J In the'drawing, IFig. 1 is a central longitudinal section through a device embodying theinvention;

object of the'invention is to provide novel means for maintaining'thedriven member'of a is toprovide a novel frictionclutch mechanism inwhich theclutch engaging pressure is opposed'by acom ;F'lg'.'2' is atransverse sectionalview taken along the line 2-'2'0f Fig. 1; f

Figs. 3 and 4 are" detail views'of certain features.

Referring to the drawing [and particularly'to 5 Figfl, the inventionisfillustrated as embodied in a driving mechanism comprising "adrivingmember 'I, a driven shaft 2, and a plurality or intermediate: members ofnovel construction drivably connecting the members i and Land enclosedin a finned casing 3 having; a 'flange- 4 prdv lded with an openingthrough whichf suit able iastening'fmeans 5 ma be inserted for attachment to a" suitable supporting flange 'At the opposite end thecasing 3 1s preferably-provided Witha SeC Ond flange throughfwhich boltsadapted to holdan end plate I whichthus serves as" acoupling betweenthe" casing 3 and the housingfwo'f a generator or otherdevice to: be;'driven, as well as serving as "a sup-perv 20 shaft 2i'srotatably'mountd. 1 5 e above suggested -the invention center!ipiatesthe-provision of novel means for drivably"connearin the shafts i and 2to j permit relative 25 rotation ofthe two shafts through theinstrume'ntality offnovel friction driving connections. Such; drivingconnections" preferably take the form 'of'a driving barrel" drivablyconnected for a ball bearing mem ers in which thefdriven to the drivenmember 2 by'a set of friction plates 30 which in] the form. shownconsists of a. plurality of vinter-leaving metallic' discs II- andl5,*the' former being splined to thesplines'or slots IS in the barrel"IZ'and the latterbeing similarly splinedas indicated at 11, was sleeve20 splined as on the intermediatedrive shaft 2|, as shown in Figs. land2. g 1

The drive shaft 2| has threaded thereona nut 23' adapted" to hold inplace the sleeve 120.

abutment "plate 25 engag s a shoulder on news 40 v2|) thereby acting toresista'xial movement jofthe clutch discs, a, similar platefl beingprovided at the opposite "end of the clutchassembly' to: retain theclutch discs" in frictional engagement, the axial pressure thereondependinguponthe action of the novel control means to be'des'cribedlThe" discs i5 areprovided withangularly spaced open; ingsZS, as shownbestinlFigJZ, throughwhich' openings there-is a' comparatively-free flowof the lubricating" and cooling oil "with "wnich" the mechanism issupplied imam} amount sulfficient to occupy a substantial portion of thefree space, while at the s'a'nie. timepermitting constant circulation ina path which extends through the central bore 30 in the shaft 2i, theradial open-' 5.

ings 33 communicating with the registering openings 33 in the sleeve 20,thence through the openon the casing 3 and acting to direct the flow ofoil from the chamber 26- back to the central bore 30 of the shaft 2| byway of radial apertures 38 in the sleeve 20, and the radial apertures 41in the shaft 2 I.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that that portion of thelubricating and cooling fluid flowing along the surfaces of the clutchdiscs I4 and I! will be subject to centrifugal force thereby creating ahydro-static pressure in said oil tending to separate the discs I and I5and reducing the torque transmitting capacity thereof in an amount whichwill vary as the square of the speed of rotation of said discs althoughsuch reduction will be modified slightly by the viscousdragoftheoil,whichdragwilltendtotransmit a certain amount of torque inaddition to that produced by the friction of the discs. The meansopposing the separating action of the oil upon the discs, andmaintaining an adjustable pressure thereupon, preferably includes acoiled spring 44 (Figs. 1 and 3) engageable with any desired one of aplurality of grooves 48 provided on the outer arcuate surfaces of aplurality of weighted members 41 having apertured ears I! for thereception of pins 49 providing a pivotal moimting for the weights in thecorresponding ears 5| provided at equal intervals about thecircumference of a plate 52. the latter having a hub 53 (Fig; 1) theinterior surface of which is splined to the sleeve 23. to be movableaxially thereof and to rotate in unison therewith. The member 52 isnormally held in the position to which it is adjusted relative to plate21 by the adjusting sleeve' 54 rotatably mounted on shaft 23 andthreadedly e s sinsthehub 53,andatitsoppositeendreceiving a cage 55 theouter rim of which is slotted (Figs. 1 and A) to receive a taperedretainer strip 53 extending from plate 52. The plate 52 is furtherprovided with openings in line with the weights 41 to permit the passagetherethrough of studs 51, the ends of which are embedded in plate 21, asindicated in Fig. 1. 7

It will thus be seen that the weights I! act with the oil passingbetween the discs to oppose the spring 44 and tend to reduce the torquetransmitting capacity whenever the rotary speed exceeds the normalamount, the oil exerting a pres- -sure axially to tend to move theweights outwardly against the oppositely directed force of thesprings'44. The result will be a certain degree of slippage between theadjacent elements of the two sets of friction discs and a correspondingretardation of the driven shaft 2| with respect to the driving shaft.Such retardation will reduce the centrifugal force acting on theweights, as

well as that acting on the oil, until such force is .brought back to thevalue at which it is completely balanced by the oppositely directedforce of the spring 44, whereupon the condition of virtual positivedrive is again established. It will be noted that the radially flangedportion of cage 55 serves to prevent an excess expansive condition ofthe spring 44 due to centrifugal action of the weights.

nism which is effective to maintain a driven.

member at constant speed, within desired limits, by the use of a compactsymmetrically arranged mechanism which entails the use of comparativelyfew parts, which is relatively inexpensive to manufacture, readilyassembled or disassembled, and which possesses the further desirablequality that it can be adapted to a variety of uses and applications.Thus for example, although especialLv useful for driving a generator orother dynamo electric machine or accessory of an automotive vehicle, itmay'also be applied as a drive for any machinery where a constant speedis desirable and where the prime mover is subject to variations inspeed.

While the embodiment of the invention herein illustrated possesses ahigh degree of merit from a practical, as well as from other viewpoints,it is nevertheless contemplated that changes in construction andarrangement of parts will suggestthemselvestopersonsskilledintheartinthe light of the foregoingdisclosure and it is to be understoodthatsuchmeansarewithinthescope ofthe invention herein disclosed. Thus, in placeofthegeartrainshownasconnectingshaftll and driven shaftl, a directconnectionmaybe substituted.

Likewise other changes-may be made in the form, details of construction,arrangement of partsandtheusestowhichthey are applied, without departingfrom the spirit of the invention,orthe scopeoftheappendedclaims.

What isclaimed is: I

1. a driving mechanism comprisinga driving drum, a driven shaftconcentric with said drum,

, drum, a driven shaftconcenh'iewith-said drum,

connecting means including friction units having alternate operativeconnection with said drum and shaft, a plurality of rotatable andpivotally mounted weights normally-transmitting a predetel-minedclamping pressure to said units, resilient means surrounding andengaging all of said weights and operative to produce such clampingpressure and prevent movement thereof about their pivotal axes so longasthe rotary speed there is maintained within a predetermined range, andmeans for removing the heat generated by the inter-engagement of saidfriction units, said last named means further operating to tend to causesuch pivotal movement of said weights.

3. In a device of the class described, a driving member, a driven memberconcentric therewith, a plurality of friction plates constituting adriving connection between said members, means comprising weightelements and a toroidal spring encircling said weight elements anddriven member and acting through the instrumentality of said weightelements to exert torque transmitting pressure upon said frictionplates,and means for directing a fluid under hydrostatic pressurethrough the friction plate assembly to vary the torque transmittingcapacity thereof in accordance with variations in speed.

4. In a device of the class described, a driving member, a driven memberconcentric therewith, a plurality of friction plates constituting adriving connection between said members, a toroidal spring encirclingsaid driven member and laterally spaced from said friction plates, meansincluding weight elements acted upon by said spring to exert a clampingeffect on said friction plates, and means for directing a fluid underhydrostatic pressure through the friction plate assembly to vary thetorque transmitting capacity thereof in accordance with variations inspeed.

5. In a device of the class described, a driving member, a driven memberconcentric therewith, a plurality of friction plates constituting adriving connection between said members, a toroidal spring encirclingsaid driven member and laterally spaced from said friction plates, meansacted upon by said spring to exert a clamping effect on said frictionplates, said means comprising a plurality of weighted membersmaintained" in spaced relation about said driven member and adapted torotate therewith, and means fordirecting a fluid under hydrostaticpressure through the friction plate assembly to vary the torquetransmitting capacity thereof in accordance with variations in speed.

6. In a device of the class described, a driving radial directionthrough the friction plate assem my to vary the torque transmittingcapacity thereof in accordance with variations in speed.

7. In a device of the class described, a driving member, a drivenmember, a pluralityof friction elements constituting a drivingconnection between said members, means exerting driving pressure uponsaid elements, said means including weight elements in spaced relationto'said friction elements, and means for causing a fluid underhydrostatic pressure to flow in a radial direction through the frictionelement assembly to vary the torque transmitting capacity thereof inaccordance with variations in speed.

8. In a device of the class described, a driving member, a drivenmember, a plurality of friction elements constituting a drivingconnection between said members, means exerting driving pressure uponsaid elements, said means including elements encircling one of saidmembers and disposed in spaced relation to said friction elements, andmeans for causing a fluid under hydrostatic pressure to flow in a radialdirection through the friction element assembly to vary the torquetransmitting capacity thereof in accordance with variations 'in speed.

CLINTON H. HAVILL. ALBERT S. WALTON.

